Chapter 11: Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Biomass via Gasification and Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis

The global growth in air traffic is expected to continue over the next few decades, and the most promising strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation is to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The biomass-to-liquid (BtL) process is considered the most promising of several pathways for SAF production. In this process, syngas is converted into long-chain hydrocarbons via Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis (FTS). SAF produced via FTS is considered a drop-in fuel, which means that existing aircraft can be operated with SAF without any technical modifications, and the use of sustainable biomass residues shows high potential for emission reductions. In this chapter, the specific BtL-FT pathway used in the production of SAF consists of the torrefaction of lignocellulosic biomass, oxygen-blown entrained flow gasification, gas conditioning and FTS yielding liquid hydrocarbon fuels with a high selectivity toward SAF for further upgrading. Modeling of different path configurations – including material and heat integration, as well as process parameter variation – shows the potential of the BtL-FT pathway to efficiently produce SAF in both the short and medium term.